Exploring User Acceptance and Intention Towards App Based Cab Aggregators using Integrated TAM and TPB Model

Rapid internet penetration and increasing smartphone usage in India and the world has changed the consumer behaviour and has altered traditional business paradigms. Online services have replaced a number of traditional offline activities today. The acceptance of digital technology has by far changed the needs and expectations of consumers in today’s competitive scenario. One of such major change is the birth of the sharing economy, which is defined as “an economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the internet” (Oxford dictionaries, 2016). Application Based Cab Aggregators (ABCA) aggregates cabs for the ease of customers by providing cabs at their destination for rates set by the service. Some of the key players in this new emerging market in India are Uber India Technology Private Limited, ANI Technologies Private Limited, Meru Cab Company Pvt. Ltd., Carzonrent (India) Pvt. Ltd, Zoomcar India Private Ltd, Saavari, Fast Track Call Cab Private Limited. Given the rising success of the sharing economy in the digital age, this research work studies the key factors which influences the passenger’s acceptance and intention of using this new technology of ABCA services by developing an integrated model of Theory of Planned Behaviour and The Technology Acceptance Model. The outcomes of the study showed that the commuters have a positive attitude towards the ABCA services and the attitude towards ABCA should be a strong predictor for the intention to use the services. The results also indicated that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness positively influence the attitude towards ABCA services. Perceived behavioural control was found to have a positive influence on the intention to use the services whereas subjective norm had no effect on the intention to use the services